Wire and rod coding apparatus



May 1, 1962 F. s. CAMPBELL WIRE AND ROD comma APPARATUS Filed May 25, 1960 IN VEN TOR.

SHUTTLE FRANK S. CAMPBELL CLAMP ml STRAIGHTENER A T TORNE VS United States Patent WIRE AND ROI) (ZODING APPARATUS Frank S. Campbell, 18837 Coveilo St.,'Reseda, Calif. Filed May 25, 1960, Ser. No. 31,579 6 Claims. (Cl. 101-4) This invention relates to a device for applying indented identification codes to wire and rods.

In the past, it has been common shop practice to identify welding rod and wire by color-coating the ends of lengths of the material, orby applying identification to its package. These methods generally provide adequate identification for the material while it is being handled in the stockroom. However, after being withdrawn from stock, the identification provided has proved inadequate, and many serious mistakes have resulted when a workman used the wrong welding rod for a weld because the identification was insutficient. The insufiiciency of the identification arises because, once the colored tip is cut ofi the rod, or the material is removed from its package, there remains only the memory of the man who performed the operation to identify the material.

Accordingly, commercial practice has'recently been upgraded to require identification of the material to be made integral with the material and at regularly spaced intervals along it. Cleraly this rules out the use of paints and coatings for identification purposes, for these coatings would foul the weld. For this reason, indentation of a code in the material has been selected as the means for identification.

While indentations in the material are an ideal means for coding the same, it has been a matter of considerable difiiculty to devise a machine capable of making these indentations. When indentations are stamped into a relatively thin rod or wire, there is a considerable danger of curling the material which ought to remain sensibly straight. Furthermore, much of the wire comes on reels, and it is desired to convert the coiled wire into short straight lengths. The removal of the curvature from the wire, simultaneously indenting it and cutting it into short lengths, has proved to be a difiicult problem, but one Which has been solved by this invention.

An inherent economic difi'lculty in indentation coding resides in the facts that commercial specifications now require that the indentations be provided at specific spac-'- ings from each other, and that their many code numbers are utilized. Were individual rolls or stamps to be provided for each code and spacing, the die cost would be extremely high. This invention overcomesthat difficulty by providing a marking device whose indenting means are readily changeable.

' It is an object of this invention to provide a machine capable of forming coded indentations on lengths of wire and rod starting either from short rod or wire lengths, or from reels of wire, and producing the coded material in sensibly straight lengths.

Another object of the invention is to apply a code identifying device wherein the code to be applied is readily changeable and thus eliminates the necessity for stock ing a large number of dies.

A machine according to this invention includes a shuttling clamp adapted to seize a piece of material to be coded and move it along in discreet steps past a marking device. The movements of the marking device and shuttling clamp are coordinated so that the material is not moving when it is marked. 7

According to a preferred but optional feature of this invention, the marking device comprises a receptacle for receiving and mounting removable raised character inserts, and the receptacle is moved by a press to indent the characters into the material.

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According to still another preferred but optional feature of the invention, the marking device comprises a receptacle for receiving and mounting removable, rotatable cutting or grinding wheels which cut identifying indentations into the material when moved against it.

Still another preferred but optional feature of the invention resides in providing means for moving material through the machine in one direction utilizing the clamp to withdraw material from a reel, passing it through a wire straightener, and past a marking device and cut-off die, and also providing means for feeding in the other direction past the marking device of the rod or wire, individual lengths utilizing the shuttling clamp to withdraw the lengths from the operator and move the lengths for the marking operation.

The above and other features of this invention will be fully understood from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation showing the presently-preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are plan views taken at lines 22 and 3-3, respectively, of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a detailed drawing, partly in cutaway crosssection, of a portion of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 shows the machine of FIG. 1 adapted for a different method of operation;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a control system suitable for operating the device of FIG. 1, both in the direction shown in FIG. l and in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 7 shows an alternate embodiment of marking device for use with the machine of FIG. 1.

The presently-preferred embodiment of a machine 10 according to the invention is shown in-FIG. 1. This machine has a bed 11 which serves to mount a pair of presses 12, 13, these presses being the type of punch press which is actuable by being triggered by an actuator to make a downward stamping movement. For example, press 12 is shown schematically as having a ram 13a, a

. die 14 moved by the ram, and a mating die 15 based upon the bed. Press 13 is shown as having a ram 16, a die 17 mounted and moved by the ram, and a die 18 based upon the bed. Presses 12 and 13 are controlled by actuators 19, 20, respectively, which are shown in FIG. 6, and which are connected into a circuit later to be described.

Press 12 is provided with guides 21, 22, and press 13 is provided with guides 23, 24. These guides are nylon sleeves, each of which has a passage for guiding through the die a length of material 25 which is to be coded or otherwise operated on by the respective press.

To the bedthere is mounted a pneumatic actuating cylinder 26 which has an axially reciprocable rod 27 therein. The end 28 of the rod stands between a pair of rail supports 29, 30 which are mounted to the bed, which have extending between them a pair of rails 31, 32.

A carriage 33 is mounted to the rail so that it will be shuttled back and forth between the two supports. The upper surface of the carriage has a clamping surface 34 (see FIG. 4). The carriage carries a clamp actuator 35 which is on the opposite side of the length of material from the clamping surface. The actuator includes a clamping surface 36 which is vertically reciprocable in FIG. 4. The actuator is spring-loaded so that surface 36 is biased away from surface34, but pneumatic pressure in line 37 will cause the actuator to move the clamping surfaces toward each other and grasp a length of material between them. The pneumatic actuator and carriage comprise a shuttling clamp 38.

A pair of limit switches 39, 4e are mounted, one to each of the supports (see FIG. 2), and form part of the control system shown in FIG. 6, for shuttling the carriage back and forth and actuating the clamp actuator.

To the left of the shuttling clamp in FIG. 1, there is shown a table 41 havingfriction material faced rollers 42,43 thereon. The rollers exert a force tending to move material to the left in FIG. 1 so that when the material passes beyond the presses, it can be withdrawn from the machinery and sent to a bin.' The force eX- to be applied and keep the cost of setting up this machine for different codes to a minimum. Die 14 is shown in detail in HS. 3, and is typical also of die 17. Die 14 has a lateral slot 45 having a pair of parallel walls 46, d7 therein.- The requisite number of raised characters 48 are placed between the parallel walls and are appropriately spaced apart by spacers 49 which rise from the die a lesser distance than the raised characters. Lock means 56 are provided for holding the characters and spacers in the die. It will be appreciated that the slot may be formed to very close tolerances, as may be the characters and spacers, so that a rigid die is easily formed up with any desired code.

It is also to be understood that when either of the presses is to act as a cutoff member, a cutoff die may be attached to the ram, or even substituted for the spacers and raised characters.

The set-up as shown in FIG. 1 is suitable for feeding discreet lengths of rod or wire from the right-hand end, moving it toward the left. For this particular operation, press 12 is not used- Many welding rods and wires come in coils or reels, and it is also necessary to code these materials and cut them into discreet lengths. For this type of operation, the device is set up as shown in FIG. 5, wherein material 51 is withdrawn from a coil'52. It first passes beneath press 12 which in this set-up applies the identification coding. From there, it passes through a conventional wire straightener 53 of any conventional variety. The friction material faced rollers 42 and 43 are removed or immobilized at this time. From the wire straightener, the material is grasped and moved by shuttle clamp 38, and is fed to press 13, which is set up as shown with a cutotf die 54 for this operation. The control circuit of FIG. 6 is adaptable for either set-up, thereby rendering this machine one of general application. This circuit will now be described.

The circuit includes a battery 60, or other source of 7 current, grounded at 61. The battery connects to a bus 62 which in turn is connected to one terminal of each pair of cam actuated intermittently operated switches 63, 64. Switch 63 is normally open, and will remain so unless actuated by cam 65.. Switch 64 is normally closed and will remain so unless actuated by cam 66.

The other terminal of switch 63 is connected by lead 67 to one terminal 68 of a selector switch 69. The common terminal 70 of switch 69 is connected by lead 71 to one terminal 72 of actuator 29. The other terminal 73 of actuator 20 is grounded at 74.

The other terminal of cam actuated switch 64 is connected by lead 75 to one terminal each of limit switches 39 and 4-9. The other terminal of switch 39 is connected by lead 76 to terminal 77 on switch 69. The. other terminal of switch 40 is connected by lead 78 to a first winding terminal 79 of actuator 86 The other terminal of switch 39 is connected by lead 81 to a second winding terminal 82 of actuator 84 and there is a central ground 3 for both windings of the actuator.

The other terminal of switch 49 is also connected by lead 34 to terminal 35 of actuator 19 on press 12. Terminal 86 on that actuator is grounded at 87. An openclosed switch 88-is placed in lead 84.

The ram of press 12 is mechanically interconnected by any desirable means, such as gearing, to gear 89 which carries cam 65. In one preferred construction of this device, where four codings are applied to a 40 length, and where there are to be forty lengths per bundle, gear 89 will make one revolution for every four strokes of the ram. An idler gear 90 meshes with gear 89 and with another gear 91 which carries cam 66. The gear ratio between gears 89 and 91 is 40:1; that is, cam 66 will actuate switch 64 once every 160 strokes of the ram, which is once every forty actuations of cam actuated switch 63.

The pneumatic actuation of the shuttle clamp is controlled by one portion of the circuit in FIG. 6. It will be noted that a pair of pneumatic lines 95, 96 connect at oppostie ends of cylinder 26 so that the direction the rod moves may be selected by directing fluid under pressure to a selected side and venting the other side. Line is connected to port 97 of a selector valve 98. Line 96 is connected to port 99 of the same valve. Port 100 connects with the atmosphere, and port 101 connects with a source 102 of fluid under pressure, such as an air compressor or pump. This selector valve is of conventional construction, the schematic arrangement being shown wherein passages 103 and 164 connect ports 97 and 161, and 99 and 166 in the position shown. In the alternate valve position, shown by dashed lines, ports 99 and 191, and 9 7 and 100 will be connected.

The movable element of the selector valve, which will ordinarily be either a rotary core or sliding sleeve, is mechanically linked by linkage shown schematically by line 105 to actuator 80, it thereby being understood that when current is applied through the first winding to ground, the actuator moves the valve to one position, and when the current is applied to the second terminal, it moves the valve to its other position, this selector being adapted to. remain in the last position it is set to until shifted to the other. There is no neutral position.

Means are providedfor determining which of the limit switches 39 or 40 will control the actuation of shuttle clamp38. This is selector valve 166 which has ports 107, 98 which are respectively connected to pneumatic lines 95 and 96. The movable element of this selector valve has passages 109 which in position connects ports 107 and 110, and in the alternate position shown in dashed lines, connects ports 1G8 and 110. Line 37 interconnects port 110 to the clamp actuator.

The operation of this device will now be described, with initial reference to the identification coding of short lengths of wire or rod. At the present time, conventional standards are for 40" lengths of rod or wire, and the requirement is that the code be stamped four times on such a rod. The shuttleclamp will be set so as to move the proper increment by setting the limit switches apart by the appropriate distance. The correct code is set in the die by placing therein the appropriate number, size, and arrangement of raised characters and spaces, and then tightening lock means 50 to hold these in place. At this time, press 12 will be inactivated, because no cut-ofi? operation is required. Accordingly, switch 69 will be moved to the illustrated setting wherein the switch blade interconnects common terminal 79 andterminal 77. This places press 13 under control of limit switch 39. Switch 88 is opened to inactivate actuator 19. Gear 90 is removed to inactivate cam switch 64. Selector switch 69, by leaving terminal 68 open, inactivates cam switch 63.

The friction rollers are started to rotate, and a length of rod or wire is fed by the operator through they guides so that the initial portion of it stands beneath die 17. At this time, limit switch 39 will be pressed so as to start the device in operation (a starter pedal or button may be provided for this purpose, if desired, or to provide a pulse to lead 76, which is electrically the same. The selector valves will have been set to provide for appropriate operation. When material is moved to the left in FIG. 1, it is desired to have the ram operate while the material is standing still, and the clamp is returning for its next grip. Accordingly, the actuating clamp should be released when contact is made with switch 39, and be actuated when contact is made with switch 40, and the ram the shuttle clamp to release its grip. This is accomplished by setting actuator 80 so that when current is.applied to terminal 82 by closing switch 39 (both switches 39 and 40 being normally open and being closed by contact with the carriage), the actuator will be actuated to move selector valve 98 to the position illustrated in solid lines. Accordingly, when the carriage strikes switch 39 so as to close it, current flows to terminal 82 of actuator 80 causing valve 98 to be set illustrated, thereby applying pressure to line 95 to reverse rod 27 and move it to the right in FIG. 1. Valve 106 vents line 111, and because pressure is not applied to the clamp, it is released, and the shuttle clamp slides along without exerting any drag or other force on the rod; At the same time, current is applied through lead 76, switch 69, and lead 71 to apply power to actuator 20 which triggers press 13 to stamp the desired indentation on the wire. There is ample time for the die to perform its operation while the shuttle clamp is moving to the position shown in solid line in FIG. 1. By the time the shuttle clamp has reached its position shown in solid line in FIG. 1, switch 39 has been opened, thereby deactuating actuators 20 and 80. The carriage then strikes limit switch 40 which applies current to terminal 79 of actuator 80, thereby reversing the position of the selector to that shown in dotted line, thereby applying pressure to line 96 and venting line 95. Pressure also passes from ports 108 to 110 to the shuttle clamp to actuate the shuttle clamp 38 and cause it to grasp the wire. It will be observed that at this time actuator 20 is not actuated, and it remains unactuated until the shuttle clamp is again moved over to strike limit switch 39, at which time the process is repeated.

This process continues indefinitely, and may be interrupted if desired by opening switch 200 in lead 75, thereby cutting oif both limit switches from the source of current and stopping the device. The device may be restarted by again closing the switch and, if necessary, pressing one or the other of the limit switches. Of course, other starter means could be provided, all of which are within the skill of a person acquainted with the art of machine manufacture.

In the event that a coil of wire is to be operated on by the machine, the arrangement shown in FIG. 5 is utilized, in. which event press 12 does the coding operation, and press 13 is provided with a cut-off die as illustrated, to cut it off. In this case, the shuttle clamp actually exerts the effort to pull the Wire off the coil and through the wire straightener, thereby straightening the already coded wire and prior to its being cut ofi into the desired lengths.

In this operation, the shuttle clamp is to draw the material to the right of the machine, instead of to the left, and therefore the position of selector valve 106 will be as illustrated in solid line, with passage 109 connecting ports 107 and 110. Switch 69 will be transferred to connect terminal 68 with common terminal 70, thereby removing actuator 20 from the direct control of limit switch 39 and placing it under the direct control of cam actuated switch 63.

The operation now is as follows: The device is started by closing switch 200 and contacting one or the other of the limit switches. Assuming that both of cams 65 and 66 are at their starting positions and just out of contact with switches 63 and 64, the description of operation will be begun with the assumption that limit switch 40 has just been closed by contact from the shuttle clamp. Current is provided to terminal 79 of actuator 80, thereby switching over the valve to interconnect ports 99 and 101, and 97 and 100, thereby applying pressure to line 96 and vent ing line 95. This moves the shuttle clamp to the left,

. and during this time shuttle clamp actuator 35 will have line 95 to start moving the carriage to the right. At the same time, it supplies pressure to line 37 and causes the clamp to grasp the wire, pulling it along through the wire straightener, until limit switch 40 is struck. Closure of switch 40, which means that the material has advanced the desired distance, supplies current through lead 84 to actuator 19 which causes press 12 to operate to make the desired indentations. Movement of the ramrotates gear 89 one-fourth of a revolution. This shuttling movement continues until gear 89 has made one full revolution, at which timeits cam closes switch 63 and a current is supplied to actuator 20 which causes press 13 to operate and cut off a length of the wire.

Actuator 21 is a one-time actuator, serving to operate the ram one time per pulse no matter how long that pulse is. This sequence occurs forty times until cam 64 opens its respective switch, at which time current to switch 39 is shut down by the opening of switch 64. This stops the machine, indicating that a bundle of 40 rods has been coded. The operator then bunches the rods, and starts the machine again by manually moving cam 66 off of the switch or otherwise bypassing this cam. There- .after, the device repeats its operation.

FIG. 7 illustrates an optional device for providing an indentation, wherein grinding wheels 120 are mounted to either ram so that lowering the ram will cause the wheels to notch the rod or wire. It will be understood that instead of a vertical reciprocation, the wheels could be mounted to a horizontally movable device wherein the rams would move from side to side rather than up and down, but the operation and the control circuits are entirely the same.

This machine provides marking means which can easily be changed to provide different codes of identification by providing more or fewer and differently spaced indentations for the dies to mark. The term indentations as used herein relates both to techniques of displacing material to form an indentation, and of removing material for the same purpose. The machine is simple of construction, easy to operate, and it provides sensibly straight coded rods derived either from short lengths of rod or from coils of wire-like material.

This invention is not to be limited by the embodiments shown in the drawings and described in the description which are given by way of example and not of limitation, but only inaccordance with the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

. 1. A mechanism for coding elongated material comprising: a base; a first die and a first ram for reciprocably actuating said first die; a second die and a second ram for reciprocably actuating said second die; said rams being mounted to said base; a shuttle clamp comprising an actuating cylinder, 'a rod actuated by said cylinder, a rail, a carriage connected to the rod and mounted to the rail,

5' and a pressure-actuated clamp on said carriage for grasping and shuttling the material; and control means adapted to intermittently actuate the press-actuated clamp to grasp the material, to cause the shuttle clamp to move the ma terial, and to operate the rams, the first die and ram being on the opposite side of the shuttle clamp from the second die and ram, one of said dies being adapted to indent the material and the other to cut it ofi, said control means being so disposed and arranged as to operate the ram which indents the material while the material stands still.

2. A mechanism according to claim 1 in which a wire straightener is disposed between the die for indenting the material and the shuttle clamp;

3. A mechanism according to claim 2 in which the ram which drives the die adapted for indenting the material actnates a gear train for intermittently operating the ram which drives the cut-ofi die.

4. A mechanism according to claim 3 in which the gear train acts to shut down the machine after a given number ofioperations of the cut-off die.

5. A mechanism for coding elongated material comprising: a base; a marking device anda first ram for reciprocably actuating said marking means; a cutoff die and a second ram for reciprocably actuating said cut-ofi die; said rams being mounted to said base; a shuttle clamp comprising an actuating cylinder, 2. rod actuated by saidcylinder, a rail, a carriage connected to the rod and mounted to the rail, and a pressure-actuated clamp on said carriage for grasping and shuttling the material; and

control means adapted to intermittently actu'atethe press actuated clamp to'grasp the material, to cause the shuttle clamp to move the material, and to operate the rams, the marking means and ram being on the opposite side of the shuttle clamp from the cutofi die and second ram,

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Ward July 18, 1933 Haller Feb. 19, 1952 

